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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Overhaul looming: Ten of the top 16 snap leaders on the defense are poised to hit free agency, and injured linebacker C.J. Mosley will likely be a salary-cap casualty in the offseason. Translation: The Jets’ defense, the team’s foundation since 2022, will have a different look in 2025.
And that’s probably a good thing.
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It could use a facelift after a disappointing season in which it has failed to protect a fourth-quarter lead in five of the Jets’ 10 losses. In three of those games, the defense allowed the game-winning or tying score in the final minute of regulation.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Remember the offseason narrative? The Jets figured a healthy Aaron Rodgers would mean a spike in scoring, creating more opportunities for the defense to enjoy the fruits of a lead — i.e. more obvious passing downs. That would lead to more sacks, more takeaways, more everything.
Rodgers & Co. have been inconsistent. When they do grab a lead, it usually doesn’t last long because the defense has failed to master the art of closing.
“Maybe we get too comfortable, having all those guys, all those playmakers on offense to where it’s like we’re not filling up our end of the bargain,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said.
If that’s true, it speaks to a troubling mindset. Scheme, coaching and personnel are factors, too.
In crunch time, the pass rush disappears, it allows chunk plays in the passing game and commits untimely penalties. The defense is ranked fourth in yards allowed — a misleading stat if there ever was one.
Cornerback D.J. Reed said the defense used to “cherish” late-game opportunities to protect a lead. And now?
“It’s very disappointing,” he said. “It’s very shocking.”
Reed, Chuck Clark, Jalen Mills, Brandin Echols, Isaiah Oliver and Tony Adams are the defensive backs heading to free agency. So is ascending middle linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Up front, Haason Reddick, Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas have expiring contracts.
There will be a lot of new players next season. And a new coaching staff, too.
A reboot for a unit that needs it.
The New York Jets defense could look a lot different next season. Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
2. Slim pick-ins: In a hard-to-explain season, this is perhaps the most hard-to-explain trend: The Jets don’t intercept the football anymore.
They have only two inceptions (both by Echols), having gone eight straight games (252 pass attempts) without a pick. In fact, they have yet to intercept a ball since coach Robert Saleh was fired in Week 6.
The Jets, tied with the New York Giants for the fewest interceptions, are flirting with an all-time mark for futility. The NFL record for fewest interceptions in a season is two, held by the 2018 San Francisco 49ers. Interestingly, Saleh was the defensive coordinator and one of his corners was Reed.
“Dang,” Reed said, when informed of the historical parallel.
There are several reasons for the current slump. One factor is the Jets are playing more man-to-man coverage than last season. That usually yields fewer interceptions because their backs are turned to the quarterback.
Gardner’s drought spans three seasons — a total of 36 games without a pick.
3. Red alert: The Jets aren’t getting much production out of Reddick. He has 0.5 sacks in 128 pass-rushing attempts — a 0.4% sack percentage, which ranks 99th out of 105 edge rushers (minimum: 125 rushes), per Next Gen Stats.
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Jets castoffs Carl Lawson (Dallas Cowboys) and Bryce Huff (Philadelphia Eagles) are ranked higher at 2% and 1.8%, respectively.
“Everything that we thought we were getting with him, everything that we had seen on tape that made us pursue him as hard as we did, has showed up,” said interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, claiming that Reddick’s numbers are down because of limited opportunities.
4. Tall order: Rookie running back Braelon Allen received a shoutout from the coaches in a film session.
In last week’s game, he made a nice, open field block on Miami Dolphins defensive end Calais Campbell, protecting Rodgers on a bootleg. With time, Rodgers fired a 42-yard completion to Garrett Wilson.
Campbell, at 6-foot-8, might end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this dude is a huge human,'” Allen said, adding, “Nobody’s going to out-physical me, no matter what.”
He handled the assignment with the aplomb of a veteran. He and fellow rookie runner Isaiah Davis, who has scored in each of the past two games, have been among the few bright spots.
5. Wonky warmups: You know it’s a rough year when players are getting hurt before the game even begins. It has happened to at least three players — tackle Morgan Moses (wrist), Mosley (neck) and nickel back Michael Carter II (hamstring).
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Perhaps the franchise’s most infamous pregame injury occurred in 1996, when quarterback Neil O’Donnell tore a calf muscle while slipping on rain-soaked turf. It took place on a painted Jets logo in the end zone — a bad omen if there ever was one.
6. Sam the Man: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has 28 touchdown passes, equaling his combined total from his past two seasons with the Jets (2019-2020).
Darnold is eligible for free agency. A Darnold-Jets reunion seems unlikely, although it could be more attractive by hiring Vikings assistants Brian Flores and Josh McCown as Jets head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively. The Darnold-McCown friendship began in 2018 as Jets teammates.
7. Did you know? Rodgers, who passed for 339 yards last week, is seeking to join Tom Brady (37), Drew Brees (8), Brett Favre (6) and Vinny Testaverde (3) as only 40-year-olds with multiple 300-yard passing games in NFL history.
Favre never had a 300-yard game in his 16 contests with the Jets. It took Rodgers 13 games to hit the number.
play
2:28
Mark Gastineau, Brett Favre have tense moment over sack record
In this excerpt from 30 for 30’s “The New York Sack Exchange,” Mark Gastineau has a tense exchange with Brett Favre over Michael Strahan sacking Favre to break Gastineau’s single-season sack record.
8. What might have been: If everything had gone according to plan, it would be Trevor Lawrence versus Zach Wilson in Sunday’s Jacksonville Jaguars-Jets game at EverBank Stadium — a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2021 draft, respectively.
Unfortunately for the Jets and Jaguars, the plan usually deviates. Lawrence went on injured reserve last week and Wilson is the Denver Broncos’ third-stringer.
9. Screen! The Jets are vulnerable to screen passes on defense. They know it, everybody knows it. When you employ an attacking style, you’re going to get burned by screens. They’ve done a good job of camouflaging it — well, until last week.
The Dolphins gashed them on nine screens for 67 yards, per ESPN Research. For the season, the Jets have allowed only 109 yards (28th).
10. The Last Word: “I got approached by them about filming my rehab. That turned into some offseason stuff and, I mean, I’m glad it’s done.” — Rodgers on his upcoming Netflix documentary, “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma.”
